Apparatus for recovering mineral values.



J. W. BOARDMAN.

APPARATUS FOR REGOVERING MINERAL VALUES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24, 1907.

Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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J. W. BOARDMAN. APPARATUS FOR REGOVERING MINERAL VALUE-8..

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24, 1907. v 899,71 0. Patented Sept. 29, 1908;

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E'Muanfoz J. W. BOARDMAN. APPARATUS FOR REGOVERING MINERAL VALUES.

I APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24, 1907.

899,71 0, Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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attozmugo UNITED STATES PATNT FFIoE.

JAMES W. BOARDMAN, OF JOSEPHINE, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO LUCYE.

PHILLIPS AND ONE-FOURTH TO MELISSA FRENCH, BOTH OF HARLEM, MONTANA.

APPAIRIATUS FOR RECOVERING MINERAL VALUES.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, JAMES W. BOARDMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Josephine in the county of Gallatin, State of Montana, haveinvented certain new and useful ImlpIrovements in Apparatus forBecovering ineral Values; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

T e present invention has reference to a paratus for recovering mineralvalues. 11 apparatus of this class, in which the tailings from the stampmill arepassed through the flume into the agitating tanks, the chiefdifiiculty against which the operators have -to contend resides in theextreme liability of the pulverized iron ore, black sand, or magnetite,as it is variously termed, to accumulate in and fill the spaces betweenthe rifiles in the flume, becoming so densely packed therein as tocompletely prevent any'settlement of the fine gold which, either aloneor in combination with the washings of mercury from the amalgam late,flows directly over the tops of the r' es into the tanks,

rendering the rifiles useless and necessitating their constant cleaning.

It is the main object of this mvention, aside from the recovery of thegreatest pos sible percent. of values from the tailings, to provide anapparatus inwhich the above mentioned defect is overcome by utilizing acurrent of water which is directed into the interior of the spray-boxdisposed within the fiume and is caused to flow upwardly and outwardlythrough erforations formed in the top of the sprayox, so as tocompletely prevent any settlement of the magnetite, which is thuscarried by the main body of water in the flume through the head gate andinto the separating tanks where it is eventually se arated bothfrom thewaste and from t .e values, and finally discharged through a chute intoore sacks d' osed therebeneath, such discharge being e ectedautomatically atstated periods.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus of thetype set forth in which the actlon is continuous, requiring no stoppingin order to clean up the gold and other vaiues from the bowl into whichthey Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 24, 1907.

and its trap valve.

Patented Sept. 29, 1908.

Serial NJ. 399,041.

finally settle after their passage through the separating tanks. 7

The invention will be readily understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description, and its preferred embodiing the"construction of the top of the spraybox and the ipe which extendsthereinto. Fig. 5 is an en arged erspective view,.of. the dischargechute and the regulatin sleeve Fig. 6 is a simi ar view of the blow offpipe carried by the bowl. Fig. 7 is a planview of the separating tanks.

Referring more particularly' to the drawings, 1 designates, generally,the fiume, 2 and 3 the separating tanks, 4 the discharge tank, 5 theamalgam bowl, and 6 the main water supply pipe which is provided with aseries of branch ipes connected with the several elements agove referredto.

The flume which is directly connected at its forward end to the tank 2,communicates with said tank throu h an opening formed in the adjacentside walI thereof, which opening is closed by a movable head ate 7 whoseside edges fit between vertica ribs formed upon or secured to the sidesof the finme adjacent said opening.

Disposed within the flume is, the main spray-box 8 which consists, asshown, of a s eet iron box, watertight at all joints and scams andincluding a perforated metal top 9 upon which a cover 10 of coarse clothis disposed, the cover being held in place by metal straps 11 arrangedlongitudinally of the box. Mounted upon the spray-box top are theriflies 12 which are removably secured thereto in any preferred mannerand are arranged parallel with'each other and transversely of V thespray-box. The spray-box top carries an annular collar or bushing 13threaded'inter- I thereby. Fig. 4 is a vertical section, showthat acurrent of water will be directed. into the interior of the s ray-box,it being under.-

stood that the portion of the spray-box top inclosed by the bushing iscut away, to per mit the entrance of the branch pipe into the spray-box,the water escaping throu h the erforations in the form of vertica jets.hese jets, which are located in the spaces between the adjacent riflles,thus serve to revent the magnetite from settling in and ling such spacesduring the time t e appa ratus is in operation, as hereinafterdescribed, the force of the jets being regulated by means of the globevalve which controls the supply of water to the s ray-box.

The separating tank 2, w ich is disposed adjacent the dischar e end ofthefiume is likewise provided wit a spray-box16 which is similar, in allessential'details, to the spraybox 8, having, however, no riflles. Thiss ray-box is arranged at an incline within t e tank, its lower endresting upon the bottom of the tank while itsupper end contacts withtheouter wall thereof, as shown, a current of water being introduced intothe interior of the spray-box by means of the branch ipe 17, .theconnection between the spray- 'oxand said pipe being similar to thatbetween the s ray-box 8 and pipe 14 already described, t e pipe 17 beingprovided with a globe valve 18.

Adjacent the lower end of the spray-box 16 an outlet opening is formedin the bottom of the tank, in which openin the threaded upper end of thevertical fee ipe 19 is fitte said pipe extending into t e horizontalsection or arm 20 of the tank 3. This lastmentioned tank isapproximately L-shaped in cross-section, and is so disposed withreference to the tank 2 that the bottom of the latter forms thepartition between it and the horizontal arm of the tank 3, while itsinner wall forms the partition between it and the vertical arm 21 of thelast-mentioned tank.

The feed pipe 19 extends to within a short distance of a s ray-box 22which rests upon the bottom of t e tank 3 andiis supplied with waterfrom a branch pipe 23 having a globe valve 24, the spray-box and itspipe connec-.

tion being identical with those above described. The spray-boxes 8 and22 are each provided with a valved pipe connection 25,"

y means of which the mudmay be drained therefrom; said pipes projectingthrough openings formed in the bottom of the corresponding tanks. 1

The tank 3 is likewise provided with an outlet opening formed in thebottom thereof, adjacent one end of the spray-box 22, to re ceive thethreaded upper end of a feed pi e 26 which extends downwardly throughthe cover 27 of the amalgam bowl 5 into the interior thereof. The feedpipes 19 and 26 have their upper ends provided with sliding gates 28-and29 respectively, which move. directly there-across and have stems 28,and 29 which extend through openings formed 'in'the walls of thecorresponding tanks,,to

permit the-gates to be operated manually.

Any desired form of guides may be provided to retain the gates in properposition during their sliding movement.

The operation of the apparatus upto this point may be briefly describedas follows :1

he tailings, after having been subjected-to a preliminary screening, arefed into the fiume and are carried by the main body of water thereinover the spray-box S and through the head gate into theta-11k 2, thegate 28 of which has previously been closed. Owing to the force of thejets of water which issue from the spray-box 8, the black sand ormagnetite will be revented from settling.

down and filling tie spaces between the rifiles, which latter remove thefine gold only, owing to its greater specific gravity. The tank 2, inthe mean while, has been filled with water from the spray-box 16, andinto this tank the tailings are fed through the head gate until theybegin to flow out through the waste opening 30 which is formed in one ofthe walls of the tank above the level of the flume bottom and isprovided with a gate 31. At this point, the gate 28 in the bottom of thetank is opened, and the tank 3 filled through the feed ipe 19, the flowof tailings continuing until t e level of the waste opening 32 isreached, this opening being likewise provided with a gate 33. Owing tothe agitating action of the spray-boxes l6 -and 22, through which thewater is forced in minute jets, the earthy matters and such otherlighter waste resent in the tailings, will rise and be dischargedthrough the waste ways, while the gold and the other values,

such as platinum, mercury, and tin, (which appear to more or less extentin the tailings), together with the magnetite gradually settle downto'the bottom of the tanks.

When the tank 3 has been filled, as above described, its gate 29 is thenopened, and the bowl 5 filled in a similar manner. bowl, as shown,comprises a cylindrical body portion of heavy glass upon the upper andower edges of which'the cover plate 27 and bottomplate 34 res ectively,are fitted, said plates being securer together by a series of verticalbrass rods 35 which extend at opposite ends through perforations formedthere through. The bottom plate, which is cupsha ed, carries a spraybox36 bolted thereto, an similar in construction to those alreadydescribed, said spraybox being sup died with water b a branch pipe 37disposed exteriorly of tie tanks and connected at its lower end to asupplemental pipe 38 com- This .discharge end of the chute;

municating, in turn, with the bowl bottom, which latter has a centralopening formed therethrough, to admit the threaded upper end of thelast-mentioned pipe. This pipe is likewise provided with a mud-cock 39.

The feed pi e 26, whichextends from the tank 3 throug anopening in thecover plate 27 into the interior of the bowl, terminates at its lowerend within a very short distance of the spray-box 36, while the verticalwall of the bottom plate 34 is provided with an internally threadedsleeve 40 in which the inner end of a downwardly inclined blow-out pipe41 is fitted, said sleeve being formed integral with said plate. At itsouter end, the pipe 41 is provided with'a gate 42 whose reduced upperend is pivoted between a pair of cars 43 mounted upon the upper face ofsaid pipe while its lower end is normally engaged y a spring latch 44secured at one end to the under face of the pipe, the gate being thusheld against the mouth of the pipe to prevent the contents of thespray-box from escaping therethrough until the proper time.

The bowl cover is provided, in addition, with a second opening in whichthe lower end of the vertical outlet pipe 45 for the-magnetite fits,said pipe being carried by the discharge tank 4 which forms acontinuation or extension of the tank 3, the last-mentioned tank,however, having no direct communication with the discharge tank. Thedischarge tank is further provided with a discharge chute 46 in the formof a pipe, in the upper end of which chute is fitted a movable sleeve 47by means of which the level of the magnetite within the several tanks isregulated. This sleeve carries at its upper end a trap valve 48 pivotedcentrally between a pair of cars 49 secured to or formed upon thesleeve, the trap valve having one end enlarged to form a gate 50adapted, at times, to cover the sleeve end, and its opposite endreduced, as indicated by the numeral 51, said reduced end being threadedand fitted in an o ening formed in a weight 52, the weight hold ng thegate end of the trap valve normally raised to a degree sufficient topermit the magnetite to radually accumulate in the chute 46, whose lowerend is normally closed by a'trap valve 53 pivoted in like manner betweena pair of ears 54 secured to the chute, and having its reduced endportion provided with a weight 55. It will therefore be ap arent thatthe ma netite, which is continually being carried up rom the bowl 5through the outlet pipe 45 into the discharge tank, will graduallycollect in the chute until the weight of the mass so collected exceedsthat of the weight 55, whereupon the trap valve 53 will open,discharging the magnetite, from which all values and waste have beencompletely separated, into the ore sacks which are dis osed at'the t thesame time that the trap valve 53 opens, the trap valve 48 closes, underthe weight of the water thereabove, until the first-mentioned trap valveis again closed whereupon the trap 48 again opens. The gate portion ofthe trap valve 48 is rovided with a single perforation 56 throng which asmall stream of water flows into the chute, to flush the same during thedischarge of the ma netite therefrom. The discharge tank 4 is li ewiseprovided with a water gate 57..

The opening in the bowl cover in which the lower end of the outlet pi eis fitted is closed during the filling of the owl from the ipe 26, andduring the removal of the va ues from the bowl, by meansof a slidinggate 58 held in place against the under face of the coverby means ofguide grooves 59, and manipulated by a handle 60 which extends throughan o ening formed in the de ending flange forme upon said late, in whichflange the upper edge of the cy indrical body of the bowl is received.

Prior to the admission of the tailings into the bowl, the gate'58 isopened, and a uantity of bird shot sufficient to half fill the owl ispoured thereinto through the pipe 45, the shot being then covered by alayer of cop er filings which are introduced into the bow in a similarmanner. The layer of filings, which has a de th of approximatelyoneinch, is indicated y the numeral 61, and the shot by the numeral 62.v

The tank 2, if desired, may be provided with a vertical partition 63,which is slidable therewithin and is operated manually. The pipe 37through 'which water is introduced into the spray-box 36, includes aglobe valve 64.

From the foregoing descri tion, it will be apparent that the mineral vaues will gradua ly settle from the two separating tanks into the amalgambowl, while the magnetite will gradually pass from one tank to theother, through the bowl and outlet pi e into the discharge tank, whenceit will collect gradu ally in the chute and discharge itselfautomatically therefrom into the ore sacks. The

mass in each tank will be held in suspension.

by the action of the spray-boxes, so as to a low the lighterparticles ofwaste, such as the earthy matters, to rise and be carried away throughthe waste ways, while the mineral values will settle to the bottom ofthe tanks and Will eventually accumulate in the bowl.

force of the water being sufficient to blowthe mass through the pipe 41,whereupon any free gold appearing in the mass may be removed by panning,while the amalgam is' separated into its constituents in any ordi-- theore sacks, the apparatus running itself,

so to speak.

Where river sand rather than mill tailings, is treated, the processisthe same, in the main, as that already described, the free goldcollecting in the bowl, whence it can be readily removed when asufficient quantit has accumulated, it being possible to watc suchaccumulation b reason of the formation of the body of t to bowl ofglass. It is to he understood, likewise, that a quantity of gold, eitherin a free state or injcornbination with mercury,'according as river sandor mill tailings are treated, Wlll be caught by the riflles in the flumefilter, from which it canbe easily removed in the ordinary man ner.

Where tailings are treated, it will be noted that a great percent. ofthe mercury present both in the ore and from the washings of the amalgamplate in the stamp mill, will be recovered. In each process, moreover,the magnetite, which has a recognized commercial value at the presenttime, is completely separated from the waste and values, and isautomatically discharged periodically from the apparatus.

What is claimed-is:

1. The combination, in an apparatus, for recovering mineral values, of aplurality of superposed separating tanks communicating with one another;means for discharging comminuted particles into the up )ermost tank; anexteriorly-located bowl disposed beneath the lowermost tank andcommunicating with the same; means located within each tank and withinthe. bowl, for effecting an upward agitation of the contents thereof;

means for discharging the heavier constituents of the contents of thebowl; a discharge tank located above said bowl; an outlet pipe one ofsaid tanks; a spray-box located at the bottom of each tank fpr agitatingthe contents thereof; aseparate bowl located. eXteriorly of the. tanks;a feed pipe connectin said bowl with another of the tanks; an separatemeans for effecting the discharge of the heavy and li ht. constituentsof the contents of said bow.

3. The combination, in an apparatus of the class specified, of aseparating tank; an inclined spray-box disposed within said tank andprovided with a perforated to a verticlal plate movable towards and rpmthe spray-box; and a water-supply pipe 'communicating with theinterior'of said spraythrough said receptacle and an agitation of thecontents thereof.

4. In an apparatus for recovering mineral values, in combination, aconcentrating receptacle; a spray-box disposed within said receptacleand comprising a metal box havposed upon said top, and an internallythreaded collarcarried by said top; and a water-supply pine having oneend fitted in said collar, to direct a current of water into theinterior of the spray-box.

5. .In an apparatus for recovering mineral values, the combination, witha flume, of ,a spray-box rovided with a erfor'ated metal top, a clot 1cover'mounted upon said top, metal straps for retaining said cover incover, an internally-threaded collar carried by said top, and awater-supply pipe having one end fitted in said collar, to mtroduce acurrent of water 'into the,interior of the spray-box and to effect anupward flow thereof betweenthe riflles. g

6. Inan apparatus of the character s ecified, incombmation, a tank;means for eeding matter thereinto; a vertical discharge chute carried bysaid tank and adapted to receive matter therefrom; and a movable trapvalve located at each end of said chute, for opening and closing thesame, the upper trap valve having a perforation formed therethrough. g

7. In an apparatus of the character s ecified, in combination, a tank;means for eeding water and comminuted particles thereinto; a verticaldischar e chute carried by said tank; and a pivote trap valve located ateach end of said chute for opening and closing the san1e,.the lower travalve being adapted to open automatical under the weight of the contentsof the c ute, to periodically discharge the same, and the upper trapvalve being adapted to close when the lower gate is open, said uppertrap valve being rovided with a erforati'on to admit '5 water into thechute to flush the same during i the discharge of its contents.

8. In an apparatus of the character specibox to effect an upward flow ofwater.

ing a perforated metal top, a cloth cover dis-- place, a series .ofriflies mounted upon said fled, the combination of a tank; means forfeeding water and comminuted particles thereinto; a vertical dischargechute carried by said tank; a movable sleeve fitted in the upper end ofsaid chute, for regulating the level of the particles within the tank; apivoted trap valve secured to the lower end of said chute; and a pivotedtrap valve secured to the upper end of said sleeve, said valves beingadapted to'be operated by the contents of the tank.

9. In an apparatus of the character specified, in combination, aplurality of communicating tanks; means for feeding water and comminutedparticles into one of said tanks;.means disposed within each tank foreffecting an agitation of the contents thereof; a bowl communicatingwith another of said tanks; means for effecting an agitation of thecontentspf said bowl; a blow-ofi ipe and an outlet pipe connected withsaid owl a discharge tank communicating with said outlet pipe; adischarge chute carried by said discharge tank; and means forperiodically effecting an automatic discharge of the contents of saidchute.

10. In an a paratus of the character specified, in com ination, aseparating tank; means for feeding water and comminuted particlesthereinto; a bowl disposed beneath said tank; a ipe connecting said bowland tank, for fee ing the contents of the latter into said bowl; ablow-off pipe carried by said bowl; a spray-box located in the bottom ofsaid bowl and provided with a perforated top; and a water-supply pipehaving one end communicating wit 1 said spray-box to discharge theheavier particles through said blow-oil pipe. i

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

JAMES W. BOARDMAN.

Witnesses:

ANNA V. BAKER, MARY E. BAKER.

